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Locomotion: When on land, Aurix walk bipedally with average-length legs, and are balanced by their head and tentacle-arms on one side and the curvature of their tail on the other. When in water, they use undulations of their body with the occasional water jet push, and sometimes will paddle inneffectually like a frog with both feet - arms typically are held forward.

Environment: Amphibious; spends much of its free time underwater, yet hunts on land.

Diet:Quirlax and Grendon meat, combined with photosynthesis obtained due to their symbiotic relationship with the Chlorolomba. Whipscales are fed upon annually when available and are considered something of a delicacy.

Average Lifespan: ~20 years, 7 months (estimate taken during semi-sapience)

Armor: Aurix possess very little natural armor, namely consisting of a leathery neck plate across the top of their neck (but not the lower section), and shark-like dermal denticles which cover their entire body as a type of scaling. These dermal denticles are also strengthened in order to support and anchor more powerful swimming muscles throughout the body, and thereby serve a dual purpose in this fashion. Besides this, the Aurix have yet to reach sapience. Due to their lower amounts of armor, they can die moderately easy when an attack gets through their offenses and defenses.

Defenses: Aurix possess electroplaques stored in their tails, which produce a low amp voltage capable of causing both dizzying discomfort and weak migraines able to cause incapacitation to terrestrial foes as well as being capable of dealing actual physical harm to their more aquatic opponents. They also possess weak poisonous skin and decent poison resistance, as well as their bony skeleton, which has been strengthened by thicker bones, chiefly in the ribs and legs. They also possess both a leathery neck plate and dermal denticles, which are described above. Their skin coloring helps them blend in with the murky swamp waters, as well. Despite these defenses being relatively weak, they can use their natural intelligence to escape harm, as well as their amphibious habits.

A size comparison between modern Aurix of both genders and an average Human.

Weapons: Aurix possess a row of cnidocytes on either side of all four of their tentacle-arms which possess weak neurotoxin to incapacitate smaller prey or creatures with thin skin. They also possess a radula which usually lies within a tiny "nook" deep within their split jaw mouths; when used, it sticks out this tongue and whips it around, trying to saw against chitinous armors, although with less success as it did when the species possessed their ancient proboscis. However, this weapon has fallen into rapid disuse due wholly to their stomachs now possessing enough acidic content to successfully digest chitin, allowing them to just swallow their armored prey (however, they also no longer feed on any species of arthropoids, and therefore the adaptation has become vestigial). As mentioned earlier, they can also use their electroplaques to stun or even kill some prey. Another weapon they possess a large bone stinger at the tip of their tails, which possesses a hollow center in order to release venom by way of a venom sac located at its base. They possess a spitting organ as well, which they use to fire a projectile venom attack from their mouths at foes, sometimes from the safety of their watery homes, like some kind of poisonous archer fish. The more recent addition to the Aurum's arsenal is elongated claws on its second pair of tentacle-arms; these are used to rake at prey (generally Grendons but also the occasional Quirlax) during hunts, or even at foes during fights; this has even more recently been supplemented by a pair of killing claws on their feet, located on their inner toes - these can be used to attack prey either by slashing from a standing position or jumping at prey, where they can inflict relatively deep wounds. The final weapon they possess is the split jaw mouth itself - known as the death petal, which is actually separated into four jaws, allowing it the capabiliy to open wider than a regular mouth to bite huge chunks of meat from foes and prey. This mouth is filled with a large complement of very sharp teeth, which are used for tearing rather than chewing; this means the Aurix, when feeding, typically tear large chunks off of prey, and then set this down, and tear it into smaller chunks that will successfully glide down their esophagus.

Tools: Two pairs of tentacle-arms, capable of simple manipulation of objects, or for wrapping around prey. The first pair of these tentacle-arms possess a split tentacle style of hand (which is formed when the tentacle-arm splits into four or five shorter tentacles, which are used like makeshift, yet far more flexible, fingers), designed to allow further manipulation of objects. The second pair possesses hunter's claws, which are long and slender; they are used for raking against foes and prey alike. However, they are also capable of a little manipulation.

Method of Eating: Grab prey with tentacles, using split-tentacles, if needed, hunter's claws to hold on. Certain prey is incapacitated by injecting them with cnidocytes that line the arms. Other prey that possess hard chiton shells incapable of either fitting the mouth entirely around or too tough to crack, use of radula to wear through armor is not uncommon. Bring prey to split jaw mouth and tear off large chunks of meat off of prey. If chunk is too large to immediately swallow, can either set food down and tear smaller chunks off until entire thing will fit down the esophagus, or use smaller, inner teeth (adapted from proboscis barbs they once had) to tear and chew the meat until it is in small enough chunks to fit safely down the esophagus and into the stomach, where digestion begins. After being processed within the acids of the stomach, it descends into the intestine, where nutrients are partially digested by the body, with wasted remnants excreted out the anus on the opposite end.

Reproductive Rate: Sexual maturity is reached after 5 years. Can reproduce any amount of times during their lifetime, although they generally will limit themselves to twice during their lifetime.

Gestation:Under Rehaul -- Outdated information located below:3.5 weeks then lays eggs -- eggs are laid in nests dug out of sand, dirt, and/or mud and formed into a shallow bowl shape through the use of natural enzymes excreted through their cloaca, combined with the processes of their ptchocyst nematocysts, which when combined work like a type of glue to hold their nests together (the ptchocyst works as a waterproofing seal). These nests are built within the shallows of their swampy home, as the eggs still need the air to breathe, as an Aurix cannot breathe underwater forever, and therefore the eggs still need to remain above the surface of the stagnant lake.

Offspring Incubation: 4 weeks until egg hatches after being laid.

Number of Offspring: 10 aurumlings per litter

Offspring Survival Rate (before age of maturity): 46% -- the Aurix are a very intelligent species, and while they take care of young aurumlings, they no longer pay nearly as much attention to their nests and eggs, with parents preferring to mostly leave them be except in order to replace the air bubble in their aquatic nests periodically. Both parents will spend time doing this for their eggs and spending a small amount of time during each session "bonding" with their eggs. If both parents should somehow die, the rest of the colony will take over for them. After hatching, young must instinctively swim towards the nearby shore for the protection of their parents, who will pick them up (as despite being able to swim, they are still unable to walk on land). Small pits are still utilized to keep track of aurumlings who are still too young to walk, but after two weeks, they finally learn to do so, and can leave the pits in order to follow their parents around and play with each other. After 3 weeks they learn how to swim for extended periods of time without tiring as easily, and can enter deeper waters, although still must stick close to the colony to avoid being eaten or lost. Most deaths occur before this stage, and typically in first-time mothers or when the new aurumlings flee towards the colony. Egg thieves may also advance on the nests occasionally and rob them before hatching ever occurs.

While not exactly highly-specialized predators, they are pack hunters who focus on only a few particular species for their sustenance. In times of starvation, they are said to occasionally resort to cannibalism. Minus their own kind, only three species are known to grace the Aurixan stomach linings.

The Aurix are certainly not considered an apex predator, and are viewed as a welcome food source to a number of species. While other colonies might know which species specifically predate upon them, the West Shore Aurix (which the storyline follows) only know a few species who feed upon their delectable flesh.

The Aurix were not the first sapient species on their planet. A mysterious race calling themselves the Zomm once lived on Vuunega before a collision with a comet wiped out 99.9% of the planet's lifeforms a billion year ago in a huge cataclysmic event.

Aurix lead a symbiotic life. They have carried a chloroplast symbiote called the Chlorolomba since they were rather simple cells, which could give their hosts energy in the form of photosynthesis. These symbiotes now reside in "cluster organ buds" which reside for the most part just below the surface of the skin, although a certain amount of this sticks out slightly in a "bud" shape, allowing greater cluster organ surface area. The skin above these cluster organs is translucent and thinner than the rest of the skin, allowing light to pass through easier. The Aurix themselves are carnivores, feeding chiefly off of both the Grendon and the Quirlax. They are entirely capable of killing their prey, and are excellent hunters.

They possess a weak neurotoxin in the cnidocytes that line their tentacle-arms, which is released by will rather than automatically. They also have slightly poisonous skin.

The Aurix Interactive Spore FanFic Game was started on the GameFAQs Spore Message Board on Saturday, March 25, 2006. Since then, the Aurix went through over 104 rounds of evolution, failing to actually acquire sapience, although they got close. The game unfortunately was halted after Spore came out, as no one was willing to play the forum games any longer.

Hybrids come in three fashions: natural hybrids, caused by the natural union between individuals of separate but closely related species; neogenetic hybrids, created using a brand of near-perfect genetics called neogenetics that allows any and all species to genetically co-mingle, as well as allowing for a target of the use to mutate from the hybridization post-birth; and forced hybrids, created by a species forcing itself into another and purposefully altering its DNA, or using its DNA to separately create new entities based off the original creatures.

Many species split from the original Zocellium that existed in the oceans of Vuunega during the Great Catacylsm. Not all of these survived. Those who led directly to the evolution of the Aurix are known simply as ancestors for obvious reasons. Those which split from that lineage to form new, varied lineages of their own are known as offshoots. Technically speaking, one new offshoot branch was formed during each chapter of The Vuunega Chronicles, and each chapter after an offshoots' creation, that offshoot spawned its own offshoot. The Aurix family tree has therefore blossomed quite beautifully over the eons.